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Good morning and welcome to the Upper Room Community. Today we look to the story of the Good Shepherd for inspiration and direction in our faith walk. We are called to be the shepherds of our own lives and from that place of fullness we become shepherds in our world. Jesus models a life seeped in commitment to both the inner and the communal life of the believer.
Opening Prayer: Kim
Holy One, we come together as many different people with different stories. We are hungry for peace and justice, compassion and mercy. We want this not only for ourselves but for all. We are united in our desire to walk more closely with you. We come with humility and a whole-hearted desire to be Good Shepherds in our lives and the world. We know that none are free when others are oppressed. May we have the courage to break down all barriers to the fullness of life intended for us and for all people. AMEN
Opening Song: Come As You Are by The Many
Liturgy of the Word
Readings
Donna: First Reading
A reading from Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent
This was his only child. The most precious human in the world to him. The boy was so sweet-faced, innocent and free. How could he tell him that the world, his country, saw him as a threat? When exactly is the best time to break a child’s heart?
Should a parent clip them a little at a time, spread it out to spare them the pain of a single blow? Should a parent sit them down and get it over with? You could argue that the sooner a child knows, the safer, more prepared he will be. Maybe a parent will hold off as long as he can, give his child the longest chance to be…..a child. He’ll have the rest of his life, decades, to live with reality, adjust himself to the truth.
Maybe the most loving thing to do is to wait, until something happens, somebody drops the n-word on him at the playground or a teacher checks him for running down the hall but not his white school-mates, and he knows it’s wrong and wants to know why.
The issue was his son’s life and what the father could do to protect it. The challenge for a parent in the subordinate caste is to calculate the precise and accurate moment to break the truth to a child before the caste system does it for him, to figure out how to stretch their innocence until the last possible moment before it is too late.
These are the inspired word of Isabel Wilkerson from her book Caste: The Origins of our Discontent and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Alleluia - Debbie
Gospel
Joan: A reading from the writer known as John (10: 10-18)
I came that you might have life and have it to the full.
I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd would die for the sheep.
The hired hand, who is neither the shepherd nor owner of the sheep, catches sight of the wolf coming and runs away, leaving the sheep to be scattered or snatched by the wolf.
That’s because the hired hand works only for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and the sheep know me, in the same way Abba God knows me and I know God--and for these sheep I will lay down my life.
I have other sheep that don’t belong to this fold-- I must lead them too, and they will hear my voice.
And then, there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why Abba God loves me--because I lay down my life, only to take it up again.
No one takes my life from me; I lay it down freely.
These are the inspired words from the writer known as John and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Dave: Homily Starter
My thoughts about today’s readings reflect my collaboration with Kim and Donna, as well as commentary from Rev. Michael Marsh, Episcopal Priest (https://interruptingthesilence.com/2018/05/11/the-abundant-life-a-sermon-on-john-1011-18/)
Perhaps the most common interpretation of the story of the Good Shepherd is that Jesus is the shepherd who loves and protects us. A second common interpretation is that we are the shepherds, called to care for, guide and protect those in need. Both of these interpretations are important and useful and I believe that the Upper Room has served as a shepherd to many in our community.
Today, I would like to have us think about a third interpretation of the gospel that is facilitated when we view it in the context of the very first line: “I came that you might have life and have it to the full.” Jesus wants all of us to engage with the Divine by living our lives fully. To me, this is a hopeful and welcome message. But if our goal is not to worship Jesus, but rather to emulate him, the gospel reading cannot only be about our own personal fulfillment. I believe we are called to acknowledge, as exemplified in the first reading, that currently this fullness of life to which Jesus calls us, is not available to all people in equal measure.
Let’s begin with the fullness of life, also sometimes referred to as abundance in scripture. This is not about having possessions or great wealth, but rather is about establishing, nurturing, enjoying and protecting those life experiences that touch us most deeply. Marsh writes that these experiences allow us to step more completely into our own life and into the life of another, thereby bringing about love, joy, truth and peace into the world. These cherished experiences connect all involved with the Divine. In other words, by living fully, the presence of God is realized.
Michael Marsh suggests that these deeply meaningful experiences are our sheep and, we, as shepherds, must value and protect them because these are the components of our lives that allow us to truly live. Marsh believes that our sheep include our parenting or grand-parenting, our friendships, the people we love, the work we do, our hopes, and dreams.
But just a Jesus did during his life, we must also acknowledge that the opportunity for abundance is jeopardized for some because of the artificial caste system that exits in our country and around the world. This system can be based on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, political belief, and on and on.
In the first reading we see how the caste system jeopardizes a father’s ability to enjoy the abundance that should be his as he engages with his son. How could a parent possibly explain to their child the unexplainable? Namely, that there exists an artificial construction that ranks human value based on traits that would otherwise be neutral-- if not for the desire to keep certain groups oppressed. How does a parent tell their child that they have been placed in one of those groups? How does a parent not worry about the wolves that still roam the land in the form of discrimination, as well as the “hired hands” who are too fearful to protect the flock? As Marsh suggests, the role of the wolf in the gospel story is a reminder of what’s been taken from us and carried away.
Maybe the value of these readings is to encourage us to live life fully and also have us think about our lives. As shepherds, can we lay down our lives by dying to worldly things, ego, and other commitments and focus on those interactions that invite the Divine? Can we hear the call to create one flock where all members are equally beloved, where diversity is viewed as our strength, and where we see a reflection of the Divine in all people? And finally, can we die to our own complacency, fear, and prejudice, and push back against the ongoing injustice that denies some the fullness of life that was intended for all? Please feel free to share your thoughts on the readings and theme.
Shared Homily
Statement of Faith - Deven
We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.
We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.
We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
(Written by Jay Murnane)
Kim: As we prepare for this sacred meal we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our prayers for the community.
Lynn: Community Prayers
Please, in silence, offer any intentions you bring to the table….” (pause)
We bring these and all unspoken blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of abundant love. Amen.
Dave: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together.
Blessed are you, Holy One, source of all creation. Through your goodness you made this world and called us to be Your co-creators. We give thanks for the diversity and beauty of life around us and within us.
We open our awareness to the goodness of all of creation and we remember our responsibility to serve. You invite us to build the earth into a community of love rooted in justice. You placed confidence in us, for you made us and you know that we are good.
In joy and in thanksgiving we join with all the faithful servants who have gone before us and we sing:
Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
Kim: We thank you for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, revealing you as God-With-Us, and revealing us as one with you and all of creation.
He lived among us to show us who we are and challenged us to know you. He taught us the strength of compassionate love.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are grateful for your Spirit at our Eucharistic Table and for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world.
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet, so that they would re-member him.
All lift their plates and pray the following:
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat, this is my very self.
(pause)
All lift their cups and pray the following:
Dave: Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
(pause)
What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives. As we share communion, we become Communion both love’s nourishment and love’s challenge.
You are called, consecrated and chosen to serve.
Please receive Communion.
Communion Meditation/Song
God Beyond All Names by Bernadette Farrell
https://youtu.be/8K6i08rFlh4
Prayer after communion:
Kim: Holy One, we are willing to do everything Jesus did, to re-create the living presence of a love that does justice, of a compassion that heals and liberates, of a joy that generates hope, of a light that illumines people and confronts the darkness of every injustice and inequity.
We trust you to continue to share with us your own spirit, the spirit that animated Jesus, for it is through his life and teaching, all honor and glory is yours, O Holy One, forever and ever. Amen.
All: Amen.
Dave: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Holy One, you are within, around and among us.
We celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come; your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us,
now and forever, Amen.
Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter
Blessing
Kim: Let us raise our hands in blessing and pray together:
May we continue to be the face of God to each other. May we call each other to extravagant generosity! May we walk with an awareness of our Call as companions on the journey, knowing we are not alone. May we, like Jesus, be a shining light and a blessing in our time!
Amen.
Closing Song: Room at the Table for Everyone by Carrie Newcomer
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